CHICBREW BOBA TEA & COFFEE — Restaurant in Mount Vernon

I have no idea where all these "5 star reviews" are coming from. Either I am getting punked, or everyone else is insane. I have tried bubble tea from many, many, many places. Far and wide. I am sorry, but there is a gold standard. If you ever make your way to Kent, Miss Boba is so far the best that I have come across. They are the pinnacle. On top of the mountain. The top tier of Bubble Tea shops.

This place?!? They have a grand opening sign up. They should change it to Grand Closing. It's as if they think their customers are naive on what they are buying. My wife informed me that they are a franchise chain. Well, it isn't good...and I am about to tell you why.

First off, if you are going purely by cosmetics, it is very clean and nice looking. Well branded cups. Very clean and modern look. Decore was nice. Nothing overdone. Nothing obnoxious. However, looks are not everything. I've been to some over decorated asian style clutter fest Bubble tea places with that stupid cat statue with the waving paw...and had awesome boba from there. Places like Boba Lust try to be hip and modern looking also, but end up with sub-par bubble tea like this place.

Jasmine Oolong Milk Tea. Way too sweet. The tea had that clear and distinct "fake" taste. I don't know what kind of tea they use, or if it's a powder tea, but it wasn't good. There was no flavor in the brown sugar boba. Funny thing is, she asked specifically for brown sugar boba, and they were confused and said it automatically came with crystal boba...and asked if she wanted both. Are you serious???

Dragonberry Fruit Tea w/ Popping Strawberry Boba. Talk about liquid diabetes. It gets even worse when the boba bursts. I tried waiting until the ice melted, but it still wasn't good. To be fair, this was an experiment. Never had this beverage before, however, it was so bad...they should never serve it again. Maybe some ADHD kids might like it, but besides that, it's terrible.

Creme Lava Croffle w/ added strawberries. This was actually pretty good. Flavor alone it deserves a 6/10. What really hurts this dish is, 1: It's very small. This is more like the size of a mini waffle. Not what the picture represents. 2: It did not taste fresh. If they make it fresh, they aren't doing it well. It would actually be better to say they don't make the actual waffle, because if they did, that would be an embarrassment. It was hard. If it was a fresh, soft yet crunchy waffle...then this would be more of a 8/10. 3: When she ordered strawberries to be added to it, it's like they forgot that "strawberries" as an added option is PLURAL! There was maybe four thin little tiny slivers of strawberry in there. Not enough to even change the flavor composition.

The whole time, we were thinking to ourselves, how in the heck does this place get such good reviews on both Google and Yelp? I don't know...but whatever. When you go to a coffee shop, there's a lingo that you pick up by genuinely knowing your product. BBQ, Sushi, Mexican, Italian, and that includes Bubble Tea. The people running this place don't have that deep understanding, which is probably why I don't understand why they are even make...

I’ve been a regular customer and typically enjoy the drinks here, but a recent experience with their loyalty program has left a bad taste.

My husband and I each had our own stamp cards. On one visit, I asked if we could combine them, and the staff member said yes — so we continued collecting stamps with the understanding that they could be merged. When we recently tried to redeem a free drink using combined cards, they suddenly told us it wasn’t allowed. I explained that I was previously told otherwise, and they admitted it was a mistake — but still refused to honor the reward or make it right even once.

When I asked if they could consolidate the stamps onto one card and move forward with their current policy, they said no. One staff member even mentioned that the cards are expensive to produce — but frankly, that’s not a customer’s concern. If the cost of your loyalty program is too high, you may need to rethink your system — not pass the burden onto the people supporting your business.

This could’ve been an easy win for customer loyalty. Instead, it felt dismissive and rigid over something that should be about appreciation. I’m not sure I’ll be returning, which is disappointing after...

FINALLY, a delicious boba shop on the block! Been waiting 3 years since my move up here for someone to execute this idea, and I’m so glad it was Mia- I can tell she’s passionate and grateful to open this business, and it’s a lovely addition to MTV. What a sweet soul!

The Crème Brûlée Pudding topping is TO DIE FOR, I haven’t seen any other boba places doing this, and it is so delicious and innovative. Creamy, rich goodness. Perfect in any of the milk-based drinks.

So far I’ve tried the Lychee-on-Lychee smoothie & the Ube Drizzle Taro Smoothie. Both are fantastic! Only qualm is the sweetness level- I hope they add an option to adjust it according to preference. It’s definitely a treat. The brown sugar boba and crème brûlée pudding are both wonderful. Excited to try a Croffle next, so yummy!

The staff are all friendly and efficient, the shop is so chic and welcoming, and the presentation is lovely. Can’t wait to see how they expand the menu. Always happy to see new local innovation and vision. Hope they have many fruitful years to come, I know...